CPA Now Blog Archive

It’s that time of year again. We are all perusing our checkbooks looking for tax deductions. When it comes to deductible charitable contributions, it’s not always just the check records you need. Here is a refresher on what are deductible charitable contributions and outright gifts to an organization.

If you think studying for the CPA Exam is hard, try doing it in sub-Saharan Africa. Karen Purkey, a recent CPA Exam scholarship winner, is doing just that. Upon graduation from Moravian College, Karen decided to begin her career in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Just as last tax season was peaking toward the final filing deadline, the United States Office of Personnel Management noticed it had been hacked. A few months later it revealed that one of the single largest data breaches in U.S. history had occurred, potentially affecting more than 21.5 million individuals.

Diversity continues to be top of mind for business and accounting leaders across the country. So, how have we done? What progress has been made across our industry? Unfortunately the answer remains, not much. Certainly not enough.

The PICPA had a lot to say in 2015. In fact, PICPA’s committees, task forces, professional team members, and multiassociation coalitions have weighed in on more than 20 issues affecting CPAs.

3-Dimensional Leadership is a simple and practical model of leadership which groups critical competencies into three dimensions or categories:

A few years ago the PICPA hosted several focus groups with young CPAs. The traditional firm model was not necessarily appealing to this new generation of workers.

Clients understand the receiving of 1099s – they get them in the mail reporting the interest from their bank or brokerage house. But the same form that they receive from those payors is one they have to send the people they pay in the course of their business.

I once met a senior accounting major who was behind in her 150-credit-hour requirement and needed to complete them before beginning her job. The CLEP was her ticket to earning credits quickly and inexpensively.

Exploring how to use Excel beyond the traditional functions.

Opportunity, motivation, rationalization, and poor internal controls are the root of most fraud schemes executed by management, employees, or volunteers at school districts across the nation. The best protection against many fraud schemes, is halting them before they begin. One of the most commonly discussed fraud schemes identified at school districts is asset misappropriation, more specifically, employee embezzlement. Proper internal controls coupled with managerial oversight can provide a proactive defense mechanism against these internal predators.

The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in the case King vs. Burwell. Our current health care system rides on the outcome of this case. It addresses a vital component of the Affordable Care Act (ACA): tax credits that give millions of low and middle-income Americans the ability to pay for health coverage. The issue before the Court is whether the IRS may permissibly promulgate regulations to extend tax-credit subsidies to coverage purchased through exchanges established by the federal government under Section 1321 of the ACA.

Instead of just letting change happen and take its course, which could cause undue stress and not achieve the results you’re committed to, consider these four tips for managing change.

At PICPA’s first blended learning class participants had to complete four-hours of on-demand “homework” before attending the class. This type of program allows participants to take half the class on their own time, and the other half discussing the issues with the other participants.

If you are a Pennsylvania landowner with mineral rights who is offered a lease from a gas company, congratulations! This windfall, however, may raise many questions for you. It is advisable to consult a CPA with knowledge of taxation issues.

By my calculations, it took 2,402 member contributions to reach 311,540 consumers, based on our data from May 1 – Nov. 15, 2014.

Quite likely, the second-largest expense many of us encounter in our lifetime is the cost of college education for our children. Costs have grown to the point where the concept of a “traditional” four-year college degree is being questioned by influential people inside and outside of academia.

For the last several months, people have been getting phone calls from individuals who claim they are from the IRS, threatening arrest for past-due taxes. It is bogus. Here are five fraud safety tips to share around your holiday table this year.

For the third time, the PICPA Fiscal Responsibility Task Force is gearing up to put the spotlight on the top fiscal issues facing Pennsylvania as we enter a new legislative session and bring in a new administration. Also for the third time, the task force’s report will examine the public pension situation in Pennsylvania.

By taking just a few simple measures, most professionals can likely reduce the risk associated with storing data in the Cloud to a reasonably acceptable level. In fact, in many cases, you may find that the risk associated with storing data in the Cloud is actually less than storing data locally.